This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse Blog under the title: Traffic At U.S. Ports Has Absolutely Plummeted Compared To Last Year, And A New Crisis Threatens To Turn U.S. Relations With China Into A Massive Dumpster Fire
Did you know that we just witnessed the largest decline in U.S. imports in the entire history of our nation last month? Unfortunately, things didn’t get any better this month. In fact, during the final week of May, imports at major ports on the West Coast are down by almost a third compared to last year.
This is going to have a dramatic impact on our economy in the months ahead, and meanwhile, a new crisis with China has just erupted. The Chinese have been caught violating their 90-day trade agreement with the United States, and President Trump is extremely upset about this. Of course, the Chinese are extremely upset that President Trump is planning to increase arms sales to Taiwan. Both sides deeply distrust one another at this stage, and if things continue to deteriorate, our relations with China could soon resemble a gigantic dumpster fire.
According to the Census Bureau, U.S. imports fell by 68.4 billion dollars in April…
Indeed, last month, imports declined by a whopping $68.4 billion, according to advanced trade data released by the Census Bureau on Friday. This came after retailers stocked up on goods in March, aiming to get ahead of tariffs. But the stunning decline in imports could mean retailers have less of an inventory buffer, leaving them less able to avoid paying future tariffs — and that could lead to price increases for US consumers.
“I think there was an expectation that all of a sudden everything would start coming in again. I don’t think you’ve seen that huge rush to bring everything in again because I think folks are still being cautious on how this is going to proceed,” said Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation.
A lot less stuff is coming into this country, and so there will be higher prices and thinner stock levels at U.S. retailers during the months ahead.
On a percentage basis, the decline in imports that we witnessed last month was the largest in the entire history of the United States…
BREAKING: US goods imports fall -19.8% in April as President Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” effectively halted trade with many countries.
This marks the largest drop in history for US goods imports.
Unfortunately, imports have not bounced back in May.
In fact, import levels at major ports on the west coast are down by close to a third compared to last year during the last week of May…
Even after Trump lowered tariffs on China from 145% to 30% earlier this month, America’s largest ports have yet to see a rebound. The Port of Los Angeles reported a 30% import decline during the final week of May compared to last year. The Northwest Seaport Alliance, which represents the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, says imports also dropped by 30% from the last week in April to the first week in May, and volume is significantly lower compared to last year.
It appears that import numbers could bounce back a bit in June, but not to previous levels.
But then the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs ends on July 9th, and the 90-day negotiating period with China ends on August 12th.
In other words, we could potentially be just a couple of months away from a complete and total nightmare at our ports.
Meanwhile, President Trump just posted a blistering message on his Truth Social account that accuses China of violating the agreement that we had made with them for this 90-day negotiating period…
Two weeks ago China was in grave economic danger! The very high Tariffs I set made it virtually impossible for China to TRADE into the United States marketplace which is, by far, number one in the World. We went, in effect, COLD TURKEY with China, and it was devastating for them. Many factories closed and there was, to put it mildly, “civil unrest.” I saw what was happening and didn’t like it, for them, not for us. I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation, and I didn’t want to see that happen. Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual. Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!! The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!
This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.
China has been lying, cheating, and stealing for decades.
In this case, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says that China has been extremely slow to implement its obligations and that this is “completely unacceptable and has to be addressed”…
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, in a CNBC interview Friday morning, echoed Trump’s allegation, saying “we’re very concerned with” China’s purported non-compliance with the temporary trade deal.
The “United States did exactly what it was supposed to do, and the Chinese are slow rolling their compliance,” said Greer.
He called that “completely unacceptable and has to be addressed.”
If we can’t trust the Chinese to do what they say they are going to do, how can we make any sort of an agreement with them?
Needless to say, the Chinese are very angry with us right now, too.
After learning that President Trump was planning to increase arms sales to Taiwan, China issued a very stern warning…
China has warned the U.S. of its “first red line that cannot be crossed” after a report that President Donald Trump intends to increase arms sales to Taiwan.
The Trump administration will lift weapons sales to Taiwan to higher levels than during his first administration, Reuters reported, citing U.S. officials, to put more military pressure on Beijing and to help deter a Chinese invasion of the island.
It also came out this week that the U.S. military currently has about 500 troops in Taiwan.
The Chinese are very upset about this as well.
The Chinese do not like the Trump administration at all, and the Trump administration is clearly not fond of China.
At this point, it certainly isn’t going to take much to turn our relationship with China into a major dumpster fire.
For those who have been paying attention, you already know why that would be such an ominous sign.
Michael’s new book, entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next,” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book, entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next,” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com, including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. When you purchase any of Michael’s books, you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream, and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.
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